4 shot to death in Arizona duplex in domestic violence case

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. – Four people were found shot to death Thursday inside a housing duplex in an apparent case of domestic violence, police said.

Two unidentified men were in custody in connection with the killings in Casa Grande, 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Phoenix. Authorities called it an isolated crime.

"We don't have a motive for the shooting at this time, but this is some kind of domestic issue," said Officer Thomas Anderson, a Casa Grande police spokesman. "The shooter knew the people inside. The extent of that relationship, we don't know that yet. But it wasn't random."

Police and medical personnel discovered the victims following a 911 call about gunfire about 8:15 a.m., Anderson said.

The victims appeared to be adults and were all shot to death, Anderson said.

Authorities were working to identify them, and it wasn't immediately clear if they were related, he said.

Neighbors provided police with descriptions, and authorities were able to identify someone they believe is a suspect, Anderson said.

Weapons have been recovered from the scene, he said, but it wasn't yet known whether they were used in the killings.

A witness told police she heard a door being kicked in and then people yelling, followed by gunshots, a woman screaming and a car speeding away.

Another neighbor told police he saw two men run from the duplex after shots were fired.

Mindy Edwards, who has lived in the area for about six months, told The Arizona Republic that the neighborhood was rife with drug and other criminal activity.

Dawn Schroeder, who has lived in the neighborhood since 2001, told the newspaper it was a decent section of town with an occasional drug bust.

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